Lamar, Colorado facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lamar, Colorado
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Main Street facing north in downtown Lamar, 2007.
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Location of the City of Lamar in Prowers County, Colorado.
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 Lamar, Colorado
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Colorado |
| County | Prowers County |
| City | Lamar |
| Incorporated | December 5, 1886 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Home Rule Municipality |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.29 sq mi (13.70 km2) |
| • Land | 5.27 sq mi (13.65 km2) |
| • Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2) |
| Elevation | 3,619 ft (1,103 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 7,804 |
| • Estimate
(2019)
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7,655 |
| • Density | 1,452.29/sq mi (560.68/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code |
81052
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| Area code(s) | 719 |
| FIPS code | 08-43110 |
| GNIS feature ID | 203835 |
Lamar is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Prowers County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,804 at the 2010 United States Census. The city was named after Confederate slaveholder Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II during the period that he was Secretary of the Interior in the futile hope that the town would be named as the land office.
History
The northern site of the Pierre Auger Observatory of ultra-high energy cosmic rays is planned to be built near Lamar.
Geography and climate
Lamar is located at 38°5′10″N 102°37′10″W / 38.08611°N 102.61944°W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km2), all land. Lamar is east of Pueblo, on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado.
Lamar is antipodal, or globally opposite, to Ile Amsterdam, an island in the southern Indian Ocean, making Lamar one of only three locations in the United States that is opposite another landmass on earth.
| Climate data for Lamar, Colorado Averages (1981–2010) Records (2000-2016) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 74 (23) |
87 (31) |
89 (32) |
94 (34) |
103 (39) |
111 (44) |
109 (43) |
109 (43) |
104 (40) |
95 (35) |
86 (30) |
73 (23) |
111 (44) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 45.1 (7.3) |
49.2 (9.6) |
59.5 (15.3) |
68.8 (20.4) |
77.9 (25.5) |
87.5 (30.8) |
93.0 (33.9) |
90.5 (32.5) |
83.0 (28.3) |
70.3 (21.3) |
56.4 (13.6) |
45.2 (7.3) |
68.9 (20.5) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 14.5 (−9.7) |
18.0 (−7.8) |
26.7 (−2.9) |
36.3 (2.4) |
47.4 (8.6) |
57.5 (14.2) |
62.5 (16.9) |
61.1 (16.2) |
51.2 (10.7) |
36.6 (2.6) |
24.1 (−4.4) |
14.9 (−9.5) |
37.6 (3.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −15 (−26) |
−17 (−27) |
−5 (−21) |
14 (−10) |
27 (−3) |
38 (3) |
49 (9) |
49 (9) |
34 (1) |
19 (−7) |
−5 (−21) |
−15 (−26) |
−15 (−26) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.44 (11) |
0.48 (12) |
0.87 (22) |
1.32 (34) |
2.12 (54) |
2.39 (61) |
2.36 (60) |
2.51 (64) |
1.35 (34) |
1.01 (26) |
0.52 (13) |
0.47 (12) |
15.84 (402) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 6.5 (17) |
5.0 (13) |
5.0 (13) |
1.8 (4.6) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
1.4 (3.6) |
3.3 (8.4) |
6.1 (15) |
29.2 (74) |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 566 | — | |
| 1900 | 987 | 74.4% | |
| 1910 | 2,977 | 201.6% | |
| 1920 | 2,512 | −15.6% | |
| 1930 | 4,233 | 68.5% | |
| 1940 | 4,445 | 5.0% | |
| 1950 | 6,829 | 53.6% | |
| 1960 | 7,369 | 7.9% | |
| 1970 | 7,797 | 5.8% | |
| 1980 | 7,713 | −1.1% | |
| 1990 | 8,343 | 8.2% | |
| 2000 | 8,869 | 6.3% | |
| 2010 | 7,804 | −12.0% | |
| 2019 (est.) | 7,655 | −1.9% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
As of the census of 2010, there were 7,804 people, 3,102 households, and 1,980 families living in the city. The population density was 1,858.1 people per square mile (717.4/km2). There were 3,666 housing units at an average density of 872.9/sq mi (337.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 78.6% White, 0.7% African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 16.3% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.7% of the population.
There were 3,102 households, out of which 42.2% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals living alone, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,521, and the median income for a family was $43,588. Males working full-time and year-round had a median income of $31,621 versus $30,148 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,944. About 21.4% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.1% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Lamar was originally founded as a town with an agriculture-based economy. In 1982 the German bus manufacturer Neoplan opened a manufacturing plant employing 650, but it closed down in 2006. Lamar has increasingly relied on tourism.
Education
Lamar is part of School District RE-2, and it is home to Lamar Community College.
Notable people
Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Lamar include:
- Gordon L. Allott (1907-1989), U.S. Senator from Colorado
- Marvin Ash (1914-1974), jazz pianist
- Ken Curtis (1916-1991), actor, singer
- Scott Elarton (1976- ), baseball pitcher
- Curt Gentry (1931-2014), journalist, non-fiction author
- Gerald Gregg (1907-1985), illustrator, book cover artist
- Wayne R. Grisham (1923-2011), U.S. Representative from California
- Floyd D. Hall (1916-2012), pilot, airline executive
- Sharon Herbaugh (1954 - 1993), war correspondent for the Associated Press
- Wesley Tuttle (1917-2003), singer-songwriter, guitarist
- Sandy Vance (1947- ), baseball pitcher
See also
In Spanish: Lamar (Colorado) para niños
